Finland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union has summarised in a report the reflection work it launched in July in several working parties on the European asylum system and the future of migration policies. It will submit it for discussion to the EU Interior Ministers who will meet on Monday 2 December in Brussels.
This report emphasises the main principles that the von der Leyen Commission is anticipated take up in a new Migration Compact, expected at the end of February or in March 2020.
These main principles include in particular the efficiency of asylum procedures, stresses a draft report dated 22 November and seen by EUROPE. On the matter of asylum, it is necessary to consider what elements must be absolutely harmonised between the Twenty-Eight and those that, on the other hand, must be left to the sole competence of the Member States.
In addition to harmonising certain policies, incentives, financial or otherwise, must also be considered, in order to bring asylum policies into line.
In this report, the Presidency further emphasises the need to have effective procedures for the return of accompanied migrants with appropriate reintegration projects.
“Finding an appropriate response to the shortcomings revealed by the recent migration crisis is a crucial task for the European Union and its Member States. The EU is urged to show global leadership by providing international protection to those who need it, while ensuring effective control of its external borders, promoting safe and orderly migration and thus helping to strengthen the sense of security of all residents”, the Presidency notes in the preamble.
For example, resettlement schemes and other legal humanitarian migration channels should be strengthened.
It is also necessary to be careful with the words used regarding migration, says Helsinki.
“The discourse on migration has undeniable consequences, not only on the way the EU is perceived from the outside”, but also “on the integration outcomes of third-country nationals residing in Member States”. “There may be no compromise made on the public image of the EU as a defender of the rule of law and respect for human rights”, the report stresses.
On the policies themselves, the Presidency notes that there is “a consensus that the current system does not ensure a fair distribution of asylum seekers amongst Member States”. But the debates took different turns depending on whether we were talking about the specific crisis mechanism to relieve countries like Italy and Greece on the front line with a new corrective component or whether it was a more complete overhaul of the system with more balanced bases, such as criteria for allocation.
Despite these differences, there is “the clear conclusion that a crisis mechanism to support Member States under specific pressures remains necessary”, says the Finnish Presidency, for whom comprehensive data are needed to “know where the pressures lie in terms of first arrival and secondary movements”.
The Finnish document also refers to the work to be done to improve legal labour migration and the overall format of these ‘asylum and migration’ discussions, with, for example, more “inclusive” discussions, seminars or more “brainstorming” sessions.
The German Minister of the Interior, Horst Seehofer, could discuss his own ideas on the reform of the asylum system next Monday. A recently published German document advocates a fair distribution of obligations between Member States and checks at external borders of a migrant’s right to enter the EU (see EUROPE 12376/11).
This document is one of the various contributions from the Member States on the subject, the Finnish Presidency responded on Thursday. It is proving valuable in its ‘fair share’ aspects, which are “very important” in themselves for the future reform of the asylum system, it said. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)